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'American Sniper' Hits (the Road) Home'“The film was a moving and accurate portrayal of the impact combat has on our soldiers and, especially, their families,” said Mark Pollack MD, chairman of Rush's Department of Psychiatry.

Robotic surgery benefits

During surgery, your urologist has full control of the da Vinci system, which can provide several advantages over traditional surgery:

The ability to rotate the microinstruments 360 degrees. This additional precision allows your urologist to spare vital nerves and reduce the most common prostate treatment side effects of incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

Decreased pain

Shorter hospitalization

Lower possibility of blood transfusion

Equivalent cancer cure rates

Robot-assisted or traditional prostatectomy?

Robotic surgery is not the only — or sometimes even the best — method for treating prostate cancer.

Your doctors at Rush will discuss your options and work with you to determine the best surgical choice. But you can start by comparing the two types of surgery, robotic-assisted prostate surgery and traditional open prostate surgery.

Incision size

Robotic surgery leaves six one-centimeter incisions on the abdomen. Traditional surgery leaves a large 12- to 16-centimenter incision from the pubic bone to the belly button.

Hospital stay

After robotic surgery, you will be discharged from the hospital the next day. After traditional surgery, you will spend three to five days in the hospital.

Return to normal activities

You can return to normal activities two weeks after robotic surgery. You can return to normal activities four to six weeks after traditional surgery.

Catheter use after surgery

After robotic surgery, you will need a foley (urinary) catheter in for about seven days. After traditional surgery, you will need a foley (urinary) catheter in for approximately two weeks.

Why choose Rush for a prostatectomy

Urologists at Rush are highly experienced in performing minimally invasive prostatectomies. The urology program at Rush is consistently ranked as one of the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Rush was the first hospital in Chicago to install a high-definition version of the da Vinci Surgical System. This system integrates 3D HD laparoscopy with robotic technology to digitally extend the surgeons’ eyes and hands during surgery.

Surgeons at Rush have performed more than 1,000 robotic surgeries and are highly skilled at in these procedures.